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Author
Topic: Did the ARVs resolve my skin issue? (Read 4284 times)

I have had bad skin on my right foot sole mainly under the big toe and surrounding area for years. Not sure how long this has been going on but I think it started at least 5 or 6 years ago. when I still tested HIV -. My guess is that its a fungal infection or some skin disease making the skin flaky and dry, since I been doing sports I guess it could be passed on in showers, locker rooms or from sweaty feet.I tried lotion,creams, pedicure to no avail

Yesterday I accidentally looked at my sole and the skin was perfect, I mean baby skin. I havent changed anything expect I got HIV and started the ARVs. Could it be the meds Truvada/Stocrin resolved this?

I can't speak to your exact situation, but I can say this: your skin is your largest organ, and is often the one that first presents with issues realted to HIV - often fungal infections, psoriasis and the like. That was the case with me. And when the meds begin to turn your immune system around, these issues can correct themselves.

The puzzler for me is that you said this was the case prior to testing positive.

The ARVs don't resolve skin issues, not directly anyway. When you're taking hiv meds, your immune system can then deal with things other than keeping hiv in check, so you can get rid of long-standing, low-level infections.

I've had difficult-to-shift athlete's foot for years now and after only four weeks on meds, it's finally starting to clear up. I'm still using antifungal creams, but they only held it down to a low roar previously. Now it's actually going away and I couldn't be happier.

By the way, I've been fastidious in washing my feet several times a day and applying differing antifungals but it never completely got rid of the AF. It was actually so bad in early June I got a secondary bacterial infection on the bottom (arch) of my left foot. Hopefully that kind of problem will be a thing of the past for me now.

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

I have had athletes foot every year or two since my early teens and a few weeks of over the counter treatment always cleared it up.

Within 5 or 6 weeks of diagnosis I have fungal rings under my arm pits. It is a hot summer, and I have been perspiring, and the odd night sweat doesn't help - but I have never had this before. I have been trying to put anti-fungal powder on -- but it doesn't seem to put a dent in the fungus.

I am starting meds in the next week or so and I hope this (and the other symptoms - like joint pain, night sweats, etc.) will resolve with the meds.

Fungal infections that appear ring-like are usually caused by ringworm (be sure to click on that link and read so you can follow any recommendations/information I may have missed).

You'd probably have better results if you used an OTC cream containing miconazole or clotrimazole, rather than a powder. I've always found antifungal powders to be better at prevention than cure. Creams are better absorbed into the skin and make it easier for the drugs to combat an established infection. You may want to top up with the powder as well to help keep the area dry, but use a cream first.

Write the two drug names down and go to a drug store - if you can't find what you need on the shelves, hand the paper to the pharmacist and he or she will be happy to help.

It can take up to four weeks to get rid of it, and you'll need to be washing the area a couple times a day and applying the cream after thoroughly drying the area. Do this before bed, when you get up in the morning, and at least once during the day - or more, depending on how bad the infection is and how much you're sweating during the day.

Always wash your hands after touching the affected areas or applying cream - you can spread ringworm around your body if you're not careful. Do not re-use towels (use small hand-towels or even wash cloths to dry yourself to save on laundry) and change your shirt every time you wash and apply the cream. Same goes for nightwear or bedding if you sleep nekkid. It might be easier on your laundry if you wear a tee-shirt to bed while you're dealing with this.

If it doesn't start to improve after a week or so, see your doctor. You may need a systemic med (usually ketoconazole in pill form) to get rid of it, because don't forget, your body is also constantly fighting hiv and so it might not bother dealing with the fungus. Your body will consider the fungus to be small beans compared to your newly acquired virus.

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

Within 5 or 6 weeks of diagnosis I have fungal rings under my arm pits. I am starting meds in the next week or so and I hope this (and the other symptoms - like joint pain, night sweats, etc.) will resolve with the meds.

Thanks,JM

I am assuming your doctor has seen these rings? I hate to ever suggest an OI, but along with the other issues you mentioned, there could also be an internal fungal infection. The armpit rings were the first thing I noticed before I became deathly ill and wish I hadn't dismissed it so casually.

Not trying to scare you, simply suggesting you have your doctor take a good looksy.

Wolfie

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Complacency is the enemy. Challenge yourself daily for maximum return on investment.

Jmarksto has only been hiv positive for a few months (he tested negative in March 2012, and positive in July) and he's got great numbers, so it's much more likely to be just an ordinary ringworm infection. They're very common, particularly in hot, humid summers.

But like I did say, if using an anti-fungal cream (rather than just a powder) and being vigilant about washing, applying the cream and using fresh towels and changing his shirts regularly doesn't begin to improve the situation within a week, a visit to the doctor is definitely in order.

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

Thanks Ann, I was just curious about the night sweats and such. Is that a common issue with recently diagnosed people? I guess everytime I went through night sweating periods, I knew a hospital stay was imminent.

Yes, sometimes a fungus is just a fungus. I soak my feet regularly in bleach water and have been doing so for 20+ years. Before doing that, I could never clear up the fungus or the horrid smell.

Logged

Complacency is the enemy. Challenge yourself daily for maximum return on investment.

Thanks Ann, I was just curious about the night sweats and such. Is that a common issue with recently diagnosed people?

It often is, yes. Well, recently infected people. It's because the body is still in the early stages of getting the virus under some semblance of control and high body temperatures and the resulting sweat is one of the tools in the body's arsenal. The aching joints he's experiencing is likely down to the inflammatory response we experience.

I tried the soaking in bleach thing for my AF but it dried my skin out too much (regardless of what concentration I used) and caused other problems, but it never seemed to really affect the fungal issue.

I've rarely had the smell problem though, probably because I was washing my feet so often, changing socks every time I washed, rotating my shoes (trying to not wear the same pair two days in a row) and also putting antifungal powder in my shoes as well as odor-eater inserts. I also go barefoot or only wear sandals or socks in the house, which helps keep my feet sweat free for much of the time. I only wear shoes outside the house.

Now that I've started ARVs, the AF is finally gone! I'll still be using antifungal powder in my shoes though - better safe than sorry!

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

Oh, and another tip for dealing with fungal skin infections: It can help to use an anti-dandruff shampoo on the area, and/or a soap or shampoo made with coal-tar. Soap or shampoo with tea-tree oil as an ingredient can also help. Antibacterial soap will help but only if you're developing a secondary bacterial infection from scratching the area.

I found that rotating anti-dandruff shampoo, tea-tree soap and coal-tar soap as well as rotating creams with miconazole, clotrimazole and tea-tree gave the best results, rather than constantly using only one type of product. By rotating, I mean using a different product every time I washed and applied the cream.

But again, these methods only kept the fungus down to a low roar. It's only been since I started ARVs that it's gone away completely and that's only in the past week after five weeks of ARVs. For those of you who don't know my history, I've been poz for fifteen years and only started meds recently (because my numbers have been good). I've only had the persistent AF for the past couple years. It wasn't a problem when I was newly poz.

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

I had the night sweats after getting infected for about 2 -4 months, very strange since I did feel generally very well. After some time they subsided and now I dont have them anymore. It got better over time and even without meds it stopped, then I had night sweats again when starting the meds for the first 2 weeks. Thought I was sick but I never came down with a fever or swollen lymph nodes so I didnt think much about it, strangely I didnt even had swollen lymph nodes during seroconversion just a hell of a stomach ache and fatigue. Never had joint aches.

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

Speaking of skin, I noticed 2 small skin tags on my chin. Right on my dimple. It's a weird place to have skin tags from what I saw online but there you go...I scheduled an appointment with a dermatologist on Monday, hope it's not serious.

For years before being tested HIV+, I had eczema on my right hand, specifically the "ring" finger of that hand. There was nothing out there that would get rid of it completely. My dermatologist prescribed some creams and lotions that would keep it at bay as best it could but it would never be gone. Since taking my HIV meds, it has cleared up and and my finger never looked better. Weird but "nice" side effect of all this for sure!